General Advice Post: Declining a Commission and/or a Trade

[oceandezignz.livejournal.com]

Be it their reputation, their attitude or just the overall theme of what they want you to draw for them - we as artists and people have the right to say 'no' to offers placed upon our plates.

The question is, how does one say 'no' in such a way that it is purely professional and has that weight of finality to it that doesn't allow for weasel room. Lets figure out the best way to create a standard of etiquette for declining inquiries we don't want to handle!

I'm opening the floor to the community on this. Please feel free to advise or suggest ways to professionally bow out of offers for commissions or trades.

If you recall someone making a post or a comment regarding this in the past, and felt it was a big help to you; please link to it for everyone's reference!

Comments

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

I'm personally a fan of the direct, impersonal but not particularly unfriendly approach. "I'm sorry, I don't feel I'm the best fit for this commission, but I really appreciate your interest!". You can tack on a 'If you want to do something else..' if it's the subject matter and you'd otherwise work for them. If it's the attitude, you could simply say "Thank you for your interest, but I must decline." There's lots of ways you can say it, but it's important you don't give 'reasons' that they can argue against, and it's also important you don't come off like a big 'ol jerk.

Sometimes, at the end of the day, you just can't avoid a little conflict. Difficult customers will always be part of selling a service, and it's just as important as the above to be able to cope with this ahead of time. Work out what you're going to do about difficult customers, make a sort of policy and stick by it. It takes two to start drama and if you don't play along, they'll have nothing to pin on you. Don't get angry, don't be rude, and remember that you don't really owe them an explanation.

[temrin.livejournal.com]

i definitely agree with the "I'm sorry, I don't feel I'm the best fit for this commission, but I really appreciate your interest!" Its probably the most relaxed and professional thing to say. you arent putting their interests on the spot, just simply stating that your probably not the best person to ask. With that, they can simply go find another artist. :3

*thumbsup!*